Halloween revelers trash Arcata Plaza; police arrest nearly 30 people

Stan Shaffer walked the Arcata Plaza with a leaf blower on his back the morning after Halloween, sweeping garbage and other debris into piles. He and other city employees had already picked up enough trash to fill more than 30 large bags.

Every now and then, Shaffer stooped over and picked up shards of glass revelers had left behind in the gutter. Revelers also scattered glass on the sidewalks and in the planters and the grass. Bottles that hadn't been broken were left for city employees to gather.

In the center of the Plaza, President William McKinley's statue and its base were covered in graffiti. Someone had wrapped McKinley's hand in duct tape and had thrown a T-shirt over his eye. Shaffer said the amount of trash and debris left behind was worse than New Year's Eve.

"They pulled us off any other jobs to handle this," Shaffer said, adding that he had been on the Plaza since 8 a.m. "I love Halloween, but this is the third year in a row, and it has gotten increasingly worse."

Arcata police arrested nearly 30 people in the downtown area Monday, the majority on suspicion for public drunkenness, said Police Chief Tom Chapman. Officers responded to more than 100 calls for service, including seven alcohol-related medical calls in downtown Arcata. One drunken man sustained a compound fracture to his ankle after jumping off the roof of the Alibi, Chapman said. Other medical calls included two people with head injuries and two others who had passed out and were unresponsive.

People began congregating on the Plaza at about 9 p.m., Chapman said. By 10 p.m., the Plaza was packed, and more kept coming. Chapman said the revelers were mostly young adults, including some students. The revelers caused an estimated $30,000 in damage, he said. Chapman said he expects that amount to increase as the city continues its investigation into the vandalism. Chapman also warned people to be careful of broken glass when walking on the grass at the Plaza.

"Add alcohol to a costume, and you get drunken stupidity, which is what we saw last night," he said. "This was absolutely the worst. We had Halloween festivities and New Years Eve, but nothing to this extent as far as the total disrespect and disregard for the community."

Arcata City Manager Randy Mendosa said Halloween night's revelers left a wave of destruction he had never seen on the Plaza before. City staff will meet on Wednesday to decide what to do about the vandalism and how it can be prevented in the future, Mendosa said. He also said it's likely the Arcata City Council will want to discuss the extent of the vandalism at its Wednesday meeting.

Mendosa said New Year's Eve and Halloween are two times when vandalism and public drunkenness on the Plaza becomes a problem. But the amount of broken glass left behind by the revelers on Monday creates more of a hazard.

"This is just inexcusable," Mendosa said. "I find myself being angry and outraged over the level of destruction. I hope when the people who did this sober up, I hope they feel very ashamed of themselves."

Brenda Williams, owner of Delilah's Hair Styling who has been in Arcata for 37 years, was one of the business owners helping to clean up on Tuesday. Not only was trash left everywhere, she said, the revelers trampled the flower beds and smashed the plants.

"It was horrid," she said. "There was just crap everywhere. How disrespectful."

Andrea Shackleton, co-owner of Hot Knots, left the Plaza with her daughter at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. Even at that time, Shackleton said, some people on the Plaza were beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. When she arrived at work on Tuesday, Shackleton found that someone had broken one of her windows.

Shackleton, who has been on the Plaza for about 10 years, said people have broken her business' windows before. The alarm usually scares the perpetrator off, Shackleton said.

"People really went crazy," Shackleton said, adding that several shop owners were sweeping glass and trash in front of their stores. "On most holidays, we end up with a broken window and trash and puke in front of the store. It's unfortunate that the public can't be more respectful of the stores and the space."